Save my fish

Around 9:30 in the evening I'm escalating out of Civic Center BART station, greeted by the typical phalanx of degenerates. A bearded older man in a wheel chair does not feel my "don't ask me anything" vibe and asks me pointedly, "It's an emergency! I need to make a phone call so i can save my fish!"

Guesses are:

1. fish being held hostage by itinerant ex-girlffriend
2. fish is in jail on a misdemeanor drug charge.
3. Bouillabaisse accidently left on high while he went out to get cigarettes